16 January 2016, Djibouti, Djibouti: Today, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) started the celebrations to mark 30 years since it was founded. IGAD is a regional organization of eight countries of the greater Horn of Africa established in 1986 with the aim of promoting economic cooperation and social development, peace building and human security, as well as environmental protection and food security.

Efforts to form a regional organization to address issues of drought and mitigation against the effects of desertification culminated in the formation of the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), the predecessor of IGAD. The Establishment Charter was signed by Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda on 16th January 1986.

Following the revitalization process, IGAD was born with an expanded development mandate and agenda for the region. It was designated as one of the five regional pillars of the African Economic Community (AEC) alongside COMESA, ECCAS, IGAD and SADC.

The revitalized IGAD has activities, programmes and initiatives in areas of agriculture and food security, peace and security, and economic cooperation and social development. Competent team of staff, experts and consultants carry out these activities from the secretariat in Djibouti and specialized centres scattered all over the region with the support of the member states and development partners.

Some of these include the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI), the Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN), the IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre (ICPAC) and the IGAD Regional HIV and AIDS Partnership Programme (IRAPP). Others are the IGAD Inter Parliamentary Union, the IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD), the IGAD Security Sector Programme (ISSP), the Somalia Facilitation Office (SFO) and the Office of Special Envoys for South Sudan (OSESS). ###